This episode of Whistlestop travels to the spring of 1787, when 55 men of property and elite status argued in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention for what President John Adams called “the greatest single effort of national deliberation that the world has ever seen,” where the American Presidency was born.

Whistlestop is Slate’s podcast about presidential history. Hosted by Political Gabfest host John Dickerson, each installment will revisit memorable moments from America’s presidential carnival.